In the 15 years between 1995 and 2010, it has been estimated that about 95% of the planet’s saiga antelope died. Then, in a single period of 3 weeks in May 2015, over 200,000 saiga died, representing about 60% of the remaining saiga on the planet. (The mass death was apparently due to a bacterial infection which causes internal bleeding, an infection which is exacerbated by high temperatures.) Previously, in 1988, another mass die-off event killed between 270,000 or 400,000 saiga.
The saiga (Saiga tatarica) is sometimes described as a “relict species” or “an Ice Age animal”, a “remnant” of the Pleistocene. Within the past few millennia, the saiga has been closely associated with the grasslands of the Asiatic steppes; the creature is known to have historically lived across this ecoregion, from the western edge of the Gobi Desert to the shores of the Black Sea. But in recent centuries, the saiga has been limited to the steppes near the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea, almost all of the saiga (of the subspecies Saiga tatarica tatarica) living within what is now called “Kazakhstan”. A small, separate, isolated population, a unique subspecies (Saiga tatarica mongolica), lives within “Mongolia”.
In the aftermath of the mass die-off, a 2019 census of saiga had determined that the populations within Kazakhstan had apparently more-than doubled, with over 330,000 saiga still living within the nation’s borders.
In June 2020, it was also reported that “the smallest and most threatened population of saiga in Kazakhstan” had “experienced its largest mass calving in recent years”. According to a Phys report supplied by Fauna and Flora International and Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan: “The 530 calves born to the Ustyurt Plateau population of saiga represents the largest number of calves recorded in recent years […]. In 2019 just four calves were located, down from the 57 calves found in 2018. The calving numbers for 2020 are therefore a significant leap […].” [Text, and photo of herd, from: Nathan Williams. “Mass saiga calving sparks hope for a critically endangered species.” Phys. June 2020.]
Historical distribution of saiga. [Map by Atlaileopard, publicized with caption by Earth Touch. Faded coloring is historical distribution; green blotches are current distribution of saiga, while red blotches represent the range of the unique Mongolian subspecies.]
Actually forget every other post about “primal” feelings and actions, the most connected to my early hominid ancestors i have ever felt in my LIFE is when slowly following an increasingly panicked sheep. I believe that slowly following ungulates is the most primally human activity in existence
That moment when the sheep has run a few times and visibly realizes that you just keep slowly walking at it and are not going anywhere and you can see it thinking “oh fuck this isn’t how being chased is supposed to work” rockets me back in time several hundred thousand years
Hey quick question OP why are you bullying a sheep
ifesbob 